You're not Alone
by leveragus
Summary: Episode tag for Return to Sender part 1. WARNING SPOILERS!


**A/N Loved last night intense episode, but at the moment I'm feeling the lack of Andy/Sharon breadcrumbs moments, so I came up with this episode tag. I hope you like it :) SPOILERS RETURN TO SENDER PART 1**

_"The new victim. He is not connected to Stroh. He's connected to you" _

_"What?"_

_"He lives in your building, apartment 321."_

_"Andy, call SIS!"_

_"No, no Sharon, wait…"_

_"Do it now!"_

Andy had already been running towards the lift, followed closely by Sykes who had just got off the phone with Lt. Cooper.

"She is going after him by herself!" he grunted pressing frenetically the button of the exit floor.

"I'm sure she'll be okay" Sykes tried not to read too much into Flynn's behaviour. She had been a bit surprised when the lieutenant had openly called their captain by her first name. She guessed he must be really worried.

"That woman…" he shook his head and they finally reached the parking lot. "Have you heard from Tao and Provenza?"

"They are just a couple of minutes away"

Flynn drove full speed with the sirens on. He took him ten minutes to get to Sharon's building which had been a record time. Amy had to grip her seat a couple of times and in one occasion she had been seriously scared for her life. Cooper had told her by text that it was all over. Raydor and Rusty were okay, but the suspect got away.

Flynn quickly got out of the car and ran inside the building going straight for the third floor. When he got there he saw a couple of SIS agents with their weapons communicating by radio. He waved his badge and they nodded. Provenza was already there. He nodded to him and looked to his right. Flynn followed his gaze and what he saw caught him out of breath. Sharon was tightly holding a shaken Rusty. The boy rarely showed these kind of emotions, so he knew he must have been really scared.

"Is everyone okay?" Andy asked making his way towards them.

Sharon looked up from where her head was buried in Rusty's shoulder and locked her eyes with him. She slowly nodded, but he could see it in her eyes that that was far from the truth. He wanted to put his arms around her and keep her safe, the same way he had wanted to do the day before in the murder room when Tao and Provenza left, but he knew she wouldn't have let him.

"Rusty" she whispered to the teenager. "You need to give your statement to Lt. Cooper." She pushed him away from her body so she could look at his face. "I need to do the same"

The boy nodded and quickly dried his eyes from the tears and turned to look at the others in the room. Cooper nodded at him and told him they could take his statement at Sharon's apartment. Sykes agreed to go with him while Provenza told the captain that Chief Taylor was waiting for them down at the precinct.

Sharon nodded and started walking outside the apartment, her hand still gripping the gun firmly. Since she had fired her gun, she was going to have to give it to FID for their investigation.

"Wait!" Andy stopped her and she turned around to face him.

"You're barefoot" he made her notice and it was the first time she had felt the cold floor under her bare feet.

"The door is broken and there are splinters everywhere. You might get hurt" he suddenly put an arm around her back and another one behind her knees lifting her up in his arms.

"Andy!" she exclaimed surprised and a little bit upset, but she put her arms around Andy's neck so she wouldn't fall. "What are you doing? Put me down, that's an order lieutenant"

Provenza looked at his friend with wide eyes and then shook his head in disbelief. Andy ignored both of them and carried Sharon out of the apartment towards the lift.

"I think here is safe" Andy slowly put her back down.

"Oh, so you don't want to carry me to my apartment?" She snapped at him sarcastically.

"Well, I am at my captain's service" She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. That man had the ability to make her forget about her problems. Just moments before she had been worried to the death for Rusty and she was angry at herself for not stopping the man behind their suffering, but now, now he made her smile and she was slowly relaxing.

"Okay, you two" Provenza grumbled calling the lift. "Let's go upstairs to get the captain's shoes and other stuff and then go to the office. Can't wait for this day to be over"

Sharon looked at the older lieutenant thoughtfully. "You know we'll have to go to plan B now"

Louie Provenza just nodded. He had hoped that it wouldn't have had to come to that, but it was the only course of action for now.

After the meeting with Taylor, Rios and Cooper they all got ready for the changes. Rusty hadn't been happy to go and live with Provenza, but he understood it was for his own good.

"It's just for five days" Sharon reassured him while finishing packing his bag. "Until the trail. Or maybe sooner if we catch this guy 'll see each other at the office when you'll come to prepare for your testimony, but for now it's better this way."

"It won't be that bad kid." Provenza nodded to Julio to pick up the bag and the detective rolled his eyes at the man's laziness. "I don't have as many rules as this one over here" he pointed at the captain with his thumb. "It will be like a vacation"

"More like another house arrest" Rusty sighed, but he promised that he wasn't going to complain so he picked his jacket up and walked towards the front door. Provenza and Sanchez gave them some privacy so they could say their goodbyes.

"Text me when you arrive and are settled down" Sharon ran her hands down the boy's chest as she got rid of some imaginary lint. "And if Provenza gives you trouble, just tell me. I'll make him pay somehow in the office. Extra paperwork"

Rusty chuckled and hug the woman that had become like a mother to him for the second time that night. They waved goodbye and Sharon closed the door with tears in her eyes. Two minutes later there was a knock at the door and was surprised to discover who it was as she looked through the peephole.

"Lieutenant Flynn!" she exclaimed "What are you doing here?" she noticed he was in his off duty clothes. Nobody should look that good in jeans.

"I came to pick you up" he shrugged as he made his way inside.

"You what?" she frowned.

"You'll be staying with me until we catch this guy" he simply told her and she shook her head in disbelief.

"I can take care of myself, you know?" she put her hands on her hips and glared at him annoyed.

"Oh, I'm sure. There was never any doubt about that and you've proved it again today." He smirked.

"So… there's no need for this. Besides, he is after Rusty, not me"

"Those letter were sent to you too and with Rusty moving out and taking his security detail, you're left without protection since the department can't afford surveillance for two apartments" he said the last part angrily.

"He won't be stupid to come back here" she told him, hoping he would soon leave. All she wanted was to go to bed and sleep the day off.

"Hey, you never know what goes inside a psycho's head. You should probably start packing if we won't to get to my place at a decent hour." He looked at his watch.

"Andy!" she rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. "This is ridiculous! I can't move in with you! How would it look… it's inappropriate"

"I've already cleared it with Taylor and he agrees. If you don't believe me, you can call him and have that discussion with him. Frankly I am a bit surprise. I mean, you're a strong believer of equal opportunities for women. It would have been okay for you to come and stay with me if you were a man, but since you're a woman it's inappropriate. Seriously?" he lifted his eyebrow in challenge.

She couldn't argue with that. Telling him the real reason she was so reluctant to go to his apartment would mean confessing something she wasn't ready to deal with, especially now.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'll go and pack. You wait here" and Andy smirked in triumph.

During the drive to Andy's apartment, Sharon couldn't stop thinking about the events of that day. She had almost lost Rusty, she had almost lost her son.

"Sharon?" Andy wondered when he heard her crying from the passenger's seat.

"I'm okay" she shook head drying her tears from under her glasses.

"No, you're not" he said as he parked in his garage. He turned off the car and turned towards her. "You know you can talk to me"

"I know" she sadly smiled at him as she laid her hand on his arm.

He nodded. "Okay, let's go inside. There's a vegetarian lasagna waiting just for us" he smiled and opened the door and took her bags from the trunk.

"Well, I've already given you the tour" he said once inside.

It wasn't the first time she had been to his house. She could still remember being there the night after his daughter's wedding when he had invited her for a coffee and a piece of cake before taking her back home. They had spent the evening talking and laughing as she wanted to make sure he was going to be okay before leaving him.

He carried her bags towards the guest room and he put them on the bed. "Well" he clapped his hands. "For the next few days my house is your house. Over there is the bathroom, if you want to get washed before dinner" he looked uncomfortable "I'll leave you to it, then"

"Thank you, Andy." She smiled.

Once he exited the room, she sighed and looked around. Andy had prepared everything for her in the room: clean sheets, towels, blankets… but she couldn't help feeling like she didn't belong there. Her phone beeped and she read the message. Rusty was settled and he was eating pizza with Provenza while watching the latest Fast and Furious film.

Fifteen minutes later and after a hot relaxing shower, Sharon joined Andy in the kitchen dressed in her yoga pants and white shirt.

"It smells nice in here" she leaned forward against the kitchen counter, elbows on the marble surface while Andy was bending down to get the lasagna dish from the over. She tried not to stare too long at his behind, but it seemed quite impossible.

"Hey," he turned around smiling. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you" she helped him with hot casserole "I haven't realized how hungry I was until now" she commented.

"That's okay, there's plenty for an army" he joked. "You know I haven't go wine, so what can I offer you? There's soda, cranberry juice, water…"

"Water is fine, Andy, don't worry" she stroke his arm affectionately and he tried to hide his blush.

They ate in a comfortable silent, exchanging looks between bites and smiling at each other. They both cleaned the dishes and the kitchen.

"So, what would you like to do?" Andy hang the dish towel.

She chuckled. "You don't have to keep me entertained, Andy. What do you usually do?"

He shrugged. "We could see if there's an interesting film" he said as he sat on the couch and turned the TV on.

"Okay" she sat on the couch next to him. She didn't know if she were more tired or awake. She was still feeling the effects of the adrenaline pumping in her veins, but it was slowly fading and she could start feeling the results of her eventful day in her aching bones.

She sat up with her legs under her body, but she had nowhere to lean and wasn't very comfortable. Andy noticed that and he opened his arms so she could curled up against him. She hesitated at first, she wasn't supposed to be this close to one of her subordinates, but she needed to be held. She had been strong for Rusty, strong for her team, just once she needed to be vulnerable, to let someone else take care of her and she knew that that someone had to be the man sitting right next to her.

She laid her head on his chest and felt his strong arms wrapped around her and she sighed in relief closing her eyes at the feeling of security invading her.

"It's okay" he muttered against her hair and pressed a gentle kiss, content that she was finally letting her guard down and letting him take care of her.. "It's going to be okay"

"He is still out there, Andy" she cried. "What if the next time he accomplishes his mission? What if…"

"Hey, no more talking like this. Rusty is going to be okay. You have the team. You have me." He looked down, right into her eyes. "You're not alone, Sharon. You're not alone"

She nodded and caressed his chest. For now it was the only thing she would permit herself to do, but his words made her future a bit brighter and maybe, one day, she would let herself free.

**Thanks for reading :D**


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